Chargers best and worst draft picks ever

While the Chargers prepare to take part in their 55th draft -- just under two weeks away -- it's only right we look back on the notable hits and misses of their previous 54:

Five biggest hits

QB Dan Fouts, Oregon (1973, 3rd round, 64th overall)

Everything starts with the quarterback, doesn't it? To find a franchise signal caller in the middle of the third round is a general manager's dream. To find one who will spend his entire 15-year Hall of Fame career with your team, while ushering in a new era in passing, and rewriting NFL record books? That is an achievement.

The six-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time First-team All-Pro set NFL season passing yardage records in three consecutive seasons from 1979 to 1981 with totals of 4,082, 4,715, and 4,802 yards. He broke Joe Namath's record of 4,007 set in 1967. He also helped lead the Chargers to four consecutive playoffs (1979-1982), including two AFC Championship appearances. Not bad for the sixth quarterback taken during the 1973 draft.

LB Junior Seau, USC (1990, 1st round, 5th overall)

Out of all the great players Bobby Beathard had a hand in drafting during his illustrious career as a general manager/director of player personnel/scout, Seau was likely the best. He will certainly be the fourth Hall of Famer from his draft class -- Emmitt Smith (2010), Shannon Sharpe (2011) and Cortez Kennedy (2012) -- when he becomes eligible in 2015. Richmond Webb will likely be the fifth at some point.

Seau was a 12-time Pro Bowl selection and eight-time First-team All-Pro. He was also chosen Walter Payton Man of the Year after the 1994 season, the same season he helped the Chargers advance to their only Super Bowl.

RB LaDainian Tomlinson, TCU (2001, 1st round, 5th overall)

The fifth overall selection has been good to the Chargers. This one was acquired by trade. GM John Butler dealt the No. 1 overall pick to the Atlanta Falcons -- who drafted Michael Vick -- for their No. 5 overall, Atlanta's third rounder (67th overall), which the Bolts used to select defensive back Tay Cody, and Atlanta's second-round pick in 2002, which ended up being wide receiver Reche Caldwell. The Chargers also received Atlanta's wide receiver Tim Dwight. Apparently Butler made the deal contingent on the Chargers receiving Dwight. Thankfully, Atlanta agreed.

During his nine seasons here, Tomlinson never failed to score at least 10 touchdowns in a single season. That, of course, includes his still-NFL record 31 scores during his MVP season of 2006.

TE Kellen Winslow, Missouri (1979, 1st round, 13th overall)

The Godfather of today's prototypical tight end, the 5-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time First-team All-Pro got off to a rough start, only playing in seven games his rookie season. He recovered nicely, leading the NFL in receptions in 1980 and 1981, becoming the first tight end ever to lead the league in receptions in back-to-back seasons.

The Hall of Famer also exceeded a thousand yards receiving in three different seasons, including setting an NFL single season record for receiving yards by a tight end with 1,290 in 1980. The record stood until Rob Gronkowski totaled 1,327 in 2011.

DE Fred Dean, Louisiana Tech (1975, 2nd round, 33rd overall)

The Hall of Famer was the fourth defensive end off the board in '75, but you're unlikely to remember the first three guys. However, the Chargers couldn't miss on the line that year. Three of the Chargers first four picks were defensive linemen, and all ended up making at least one All-Pro team. The 1980 AFC West champion Chargers led the NFL in sacks thanks to Dean and his fellow 1975 draftees: Gary "Big Hands" Johnson and Louie Kelcher. The trio, along with Leroy Jones formed a defensive front that was locally nicknamed the "Bruise Brothers."

Two Hall of Famers

They selected UCLA defensive back Jimmy Johnson – HoF class of ’94 -- in the fourth round (31st overall) of the 1961 AFL Draft, but Johnson decided to sign with the San Francisco 49ers, who drafted him sixth overall during the NFL Draft.

Something similar happened two years later when the Chargers drafted Penn State linebacker Dave Robinson – HoF class of 2013 -- in the third round (17th overall) of the AFL Draft. Robinson signed with the Green Bay Packers, who drafted him 14th overall for the NFL, because the Chargers ran out of money and decided to trade his AFL rights to the Buffalo Bills.

Unfortunately, the Chargers would inexplicably trade Dean to the San Francisco 49ers in 1981 due to a contract dispute with ownership. The defense would not return to the top half of the NFL rankings again until the unit was rebuilt in the late 1980s, and the club did not have an effective pass rusher until Leslie O'Neal was drafted in 1986.

Five biggest busts

QB Ryan Leaf, Washington State (1998, 1st round, 2nd overall)

After all this time, what hurts the most about this selection, is the Chargers traded up. The Arizona Cardinals' price? The No. 3 overall pick, a future first rounder, a second rounder and three-time Pro Bowler Eric Metcalf. All of that allowed the Chargers to not be able to draft Peyton Manning.

Another twist of the knife: from 1994 to 2000, Leaf was the Bolts only first round draft pick.

WR Craig "Buster" Davis, LSU (2007, 1st round, 30th overall)

Here's a blind comparison:

Wide receiver A: 51 receptions, 558 yards and two touchdowns in 26 games (two starts) during four years with the Chargers.

Wide receiver B: 63 receptions, 746 yards and three touchdowns in 54 games (10 starts) during four years with the Chargers.

Wide receiver A is Davis. Wide receiver B is Legedu Naanee, who was drafted the same season by the Bolts, four rounds later (172nd overall).

T James FitzPatrick, USC (1986, 1st round, 13th overall)

Talk about opposite outcomes. The Chargers landed O'Neal with the eighth overall pick in this draft. All he did was total 105.5 sacks in nine seasons for the Bolts. Five picks later, they chose the former Trojan Offensive MVP, who started a total of 14 games over four seasons before the Chargers traded him to the then Los Angeles Raiders in 1990. The return to the Coliseum didn't help. The 6-foot-8 FitzPatrick would be out of the NFL after the following season.

DB Mossy Cade, Texas (1984, 1st round, 6th overall)

Cade never played a down for the Chargers. The All-American made his professional debut in 1985 for the USFL's Memphis Showboats. He played two seasons with the Green Bay Packers before being convicted of two counts of second degree sexual assault in 1987. After serving 15 months, he signed with the Minnesota Vikings, but was quickly released after public outcry. He never played again.

In the Chargers defense, the '84 draft didn't exactly feature a treasure trove of defensive backs. The only two of note were Martin Bayless (4th round, 101st overall) and Shaun Gayle (10th round, 271st overall).

RB Eric Bieniemy, Colorado (1991, 2nd round, 39th overall)

A lot was expected of Bieniemy -- one of three second round Chargers selections in 1991 -- after finishing third in the 1990 Heisman Trophy balloting. Sadly, his college success didn't translate into the pros. His Chargers career would amount to 711 rushing yards and four touchdowns over four seasons. Even worse, six picks later, the 49ers selected Ricky Watters. Watters -- a five-time Pro Bowler -- amassed 14,891 total yards and 91 total touchdowns over 10 seasons.